Journal-box.



PATENTED PEB. l2, 1.907.

H. BENSCH. JOURNAL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 2s, 1905.

UNITE@ STATES HERMAN BENSOH, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

JOURNAL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatented Feb. 12, 1907.

Application lgd NDVGlIllJGl' 29,1905- SGIELINO. 289,670.

To all whom. it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HERMAN BENsoi-I, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Davenport, in the county of Scott and Stateof Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inJournal-Boxes, and do declare the following specification, taken inconnection with the drawings making a part of this application, to besuch a full, clear, and exact description thereof as will enable thoseskilled in the art to which this invention appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention relates to journal-boxes, and particularly to the rearportion of journalboxes for railway-cars.l

It is well known that in the movement of railway-cars upon the usualtracks the axles upon which the wheels are mounted are liable toindependent movement in any direction by reason of the irregularitieswhich necessarily exist in the track upon which the car-wheels traveland that such irregularities may cause the axles to be vibrated or movedto a greater extent in a substantially vertical plane than in any other.For this reason it has been found necessary to have the aperture in therear of the journal-box through which the axle passes of considerablygreater diameter than the diameter of the axle itself.

In the absence of some guard or means for preventing the admission ofdust and dirt, which, through suction, is drawn up from the track whilethe cars are in motion, it is well known that dust, sand, and otherforeign substances will enter the journal-box by way of the opening inthe rear wall of the ljournalbox, and the foreign substance thusadmitted into the journal-box causes the bearings in which the bearingportions of the axle revolve to become worn and injured.

I am aware that means have been devised for the prevention of theadmission of foreign substance through the space thus necessarily leftaround the axle; but these inventions have usually consisted of aseparate or individual dust-guard fitting snugly around the axle andheld in place by means of a separate and individual inclosing frame,which has been suitably secured to the rear of the journal-box proper.

My invention has for its object the construction of a dust-guard whichis directly connected with the journal-box proper without the necessityof an inclosing frame.'

1 A further object is to so construct the dust-guard thatk when desiredit may be placed upon the journal-box and around the axle, while theaxle remains in its bearings within said journal-box.

l A further object is to so construct a dustl guard that same will havea maximum amount of bearing-surface upon the axle, within the i limitedspace between the car-wheel and the rear of the journal-box proper, inorder to insure the interior of the journal-box against the admission offoreign substance through the rear portion thereof.

A further object is to construct a dustguard which will be simple anddurable and which while having a comparatively large bearing-surfaceagainst the axle is yet perl fectly free to yield to the vibrations ormovements of the axle while the car 'is in motion.

A still further object is to construct a dustguard, which7 while havinga large bearingsurface upon the axle and fitting snugly around the same,will have most of its own weight removed from the axle through the Imedium of springs and the remainder of its weight or pressure equallydistributed around the axle.

With these and other objects, which a consideration of this descriptionand the accompanying drawings will disclose, I will now proceed todescribe a desirable form of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation view of myinvention viewed in the direction of the arrow indicated in Fig. 4, witha portion thereof broken away. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section onthe dotted line :c of Fig. l, with a portion of the carwheel shown, toindicate the location of my dust-guard with reference to the location ofthe rear of the journal-box and the carwheel. Fig. 3 is a view inelevation taken on the line x 9c of Fig. 2 and viewed in the directionof the arrow indicated in Fig. 2, with one of the adjusting-springsexposed by breaking away the inclosing means thereof. Fig. 4 is a planview of a small portion of the journalbox with the dust-guard securedthereto and shows the engagement of the journal-box through engaginglugs with the adjustingsprings connected with and mounted on thedust-guard. I

Like letters indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A is the car-axle.

B is the car-wheel.

IOC'

C is the top wall of the j ournal-box 5 D, the lower wall thereof; E,the rear wall of the journal-box F7 the space between the car-axle andthe limits of the aperture in therear wall E.

G is a flange which extends beyond the limits of the journal-box.

H is a groove formed in the rear of the j ournal-box between the walls Cand D and the flange G and partially surrounding the j ournal-box. I

H H H H are engaging lugs extending from the side walls of thejournal-box near the rear portion thereof and made integral with saidbox.

I is the uppersection of the dust-guard, and J the lower sectionthereof, which are firmly secured together by 'means of bolts and nutsK. The outer portions of the two sections of the dusteguard are soformed that a locking-flange Lwi ll project wi thin the groove H, thusinclosing or catching over the extensi on-flange G of the journal-box,leaving sufficient space between the inclosing portions of thedust-guard and the outer edge of the extension-flange G and between theinner or lower edge of the locking-flange L and the top C and bottom Dof the journal-box to permit movement of said dust-guard to correspondwith any movement or vibration of the axle A, as clearly shown in Fig. 2of the drawings.

M M M M represent the spring-housings made integral with the dust-guard.

N represents the spiral adjusting-springs, one of which is shown in Fig.3, a like spring being located in the housing at vthe opposite side ofthe dust-guard. I provide bearingcaps O, one at each extremity of saidadj usting-springs, against which the extending lugs I H H H on thejournal-box are adapted to ear.

The spring-housings are slotted at their tops, bottoms, and inner sides,so that when the dust-guard is moved vertically or otherwise through thevibrations or movements of the axle they may slide either on the upperor the lower extending lugs, depending upon the direction. in which saiddust-guard is moved through the movements of the axle.

That portion of the dust-guard which bears upon the axle may have itsinner circular surface grooved or cut away, as indicated in Fig. 2, andfelt or other packing P may be introduced into said groove or cut-outportion.

In- Fig. 3 the dotted lines a indicate the inside of the frame portionof the dust-guard. The dotted lines b indicate the outer edge ol' theextending flange G of the rear wall of the journal-box, and the distancebetween said dotted lines a and b would represent the amount of play ormovement which said dustguard may have in any direction, depending uponthe vibrations or movements ol the caraxle, as already explained.

From the description given it will now be ca s O in lace within the srin f-housinvs P 1 P P e M M M M and then simply fastening the twosections together by means of the bolts and nuts K in the usual manner.It will also be seen that in operation the large bearing-surface of thedust-guard will make it practically impossible for foreign substance toenter the journal-box at the rear thereof, that said dust-guard willyield to and move with the axle as it may be vibrated or moved when inmotion, and that through the operation of the spiral springs in theirhousings, in conjunction with the extending lugs H H I-I H on thejournal-box, the dustguard will not only automatically right itselfafter being thrown out of its normal position by movement of the axle,but that the axle will be relieved from the weight of said dust-guard byreason of the resistance of the spiral springs.

It is obvious that certain variations from the construction here shownmay readily be made by mechanics skilled in the art to which thisinvention appertains; but such variations in construction would still bewithin the scope of my invention.

I therefore claim and Letters Patent- 1. A journal-box provided with aflange which extends outwardly from the box-body and is made integraltherewith, anda groove or depression in the outer face of the box-bodyand contiguous to said flange; a dust-guard comprising two principalmembers adapted to be loosely secured upon the journal-box and around ajournal mounted therein by placing said members together edgewise fromopposite directions, their outer edges so constructed that they may beconnected with the journal-box by loosely interlocking such edges withthe outwardly-extending flange of the journal-box, means for securingsaid members firmly together, means comprising springs retained inhousings made integral with the dust-guard, said springs adaptedto beengaged at their extremities by lugs proj ecting from and made integralwith the journal-box, all for the purposes herein stated.

2. A journal-box for car-axles, whose rear wall extends beyond its top,bottom and sides, and which is provided with a depression or groove inand around its body parallel with and contiguous to said extensions ofthe rear wall a dust-guard composed of an upper and a lower memberadapted to surround the axle, said members being flared or thickened attheir inner edges, the outer edges of said members formed withoverlapping flanges and adapted to overlap and interlock with desire tosecure by IOO IOS

IIO

TIS

the extensions 0f the rear Wall of the journalboX; means ior securingseid members together spiral springs mounted and sustained in housings,formed on the dust-guard members, said springs adapted to be engaged bylugs made integral with the journal-box, for the purposes herein stated.

HERMAN BEN-SCH.

., C. ANDERSON,

! i, Vitnesses i C. F. HOLMES.

